Euro 2012: Bert Van Marwijk threatens change on the wings
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk hinted on Friday he would make changes on the wing for Sunday's crucial Euro 2012 Group B clash here against Portugal.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: June 16, 2012 10:11 AM IST
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk hinted on Friday he would make changes on the wing for Sunday's crucial Euro 2012 Group B clash here against Portugal.
Van Marwijk's side have slumped from being one of the pre-torunament favourites to being on the verge of exiting at the group stage after successive defeats to Denmark and Germany.
Germany top the group with six points while both Portugal and Denmark are on three and the Dutch are facing going out at such an early stage for the first time since the 1980 European championships.
Van Marwijk, who has been subject to criticism both at home and within the squad, is believed to be looking at dropping Barcelona's Ibrahim Afellay although veteran Arjen Robben is also in his sights, especially after his petulant reaction to being substituted in the German match.
He is mulling over bringing in either veteran Dirk Kuyt or last season's leading Bundesliga scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar according to Dutch media.
"I drew a lot of conclusions from our defeat against Germany," said van Marwijk, who two years ago guided the Dutch to the World Cup final.
"We defended carelessly and the service of both Ibrahim Afellay and Arjen Robben from the flanks was not good enough," added van Marwijk quoted by the daily paper Algemeen Dagblad.